Burial at Sea Singapore

The history of burial at sea in Singapore dates back to the 19th century. It is said that this was the first place where bodies were brought and buried following a shipwreck. At that time, the place was infested by pirates and this is why the bodies were left unclaimed. However, with the passage of time, the demand for bodies grew and this led to the setting up of cemeteries at sea and other places along the coastline. With time, this has grown into a very lucrative business and today Singapore is one of the world leaders in marine memorials.

There are two sections in our country. One is the Federal Republic of Singapore and the other is the Kingdom of Singapore. As we know, the Federal Republic of Singapore is under the administration of the Federation of Malay States of Asia (Folkongco) while the Kingdom of Singapore is an independent state within the Commonwealth of Nations. The Federal Republic of Singapore is very proud of its role as a neutral state in the Second World War and they pride themselves on the fact that all the bodies brought after the shipwrecks at sea were those of servicemen from the Federal Republic of Singapore. This tradition continues to this day although there have been some requests to have the remains from the German and American servicemen be interred in their own country.

On the other hand, it was also in this same period for Sea Burial that mass graves were set up in Raffles City, off the coast of Burma. This is the main point in the history of the Burmese Burial Ground. Burmese authorities allowed the public to visit and lay any number of bodies at the place and the remains would then be cremated upon death.

The History of Burial at Sea Singapore

Then, as time went by, more remains from various nationalities were interred at sea. The British brought their bodies aboard ships to Raffles City, and the Japanese took theirs to Port Blair. There were bodies of Americans, Australian, Chinese, British, South Sea Islanders, and Indian. Of course, many of these remain buried at sea to this day. The history is full of such cases. No one knows the exact numbers, but it is safe to assume that there must have been quite a few.

With all this in mind, there is still much that is unknown about the mysterious place where the remains of these people once lay. It is believed that they cremated their remains to hide the scars on their bodies. But there are stories that suggest otherwise. For instance, there is a chapel at the Kaleidoscope Marine National Park where you can go and dig up the remains of over forty underwater divers. These divers have been there for decades and some say they know something about the history of the place.

Another curious aspect of this whole affair is the strange graffiti that you can sometimes find near the Kaleidoscope Maritime Museum. There are images of the sinking of the Enigma and the story of the “treasure” that was left behind. There have even been maps found floating on the ocean floor. These odd pieces of art make you wonder just how close these underwater expeditions really were to the Chinese government. All this is part of the fascinating history of burial at sea Singapore.